Thinking more about values

Purpose: As we’ve discussed already in the class, microeconomic theory presents one way of experiencing the world and interpreting human behavior. But economic theory isn’t limited to what’s presented in the book, or even in the supplemental reading I’ve provided. One of the goals of this class is to learn to assess and synthesize conflicting viewpoints. Thinking reflectively about your own values and how they might, or might not, articulate with the market presents a starting point for understanding how different views may result in different, and possibly conflicting, interpretations of theory. In other words, what makes sense and is rational to me might not be rational to you.The assignment  Part 1: Identifying your key valuesCan you think of 1-2 examples of choices you’ve made, or actions you have undertaken that represent these personal key values?Whose values are represented in the market? Everyone’s? Most people’s? A minority of the population? etc. You’ll note that values don’t really come up much in the textbook, however values are an important aspect of economic choice models. Because we are always making choices, we are always picking one option over another. Basic economic theory assumes price is the determining factor, which makes sense given that basic theory also assumes self-interest. However, we may also make non-price choices and other values may influence those decisions. In order to think critically about economic theory, it’s worthwhile to explore your own values and see where they fit into the economy as we know it. It’s also worthwhile to think about how we could improve the market. Values might, or might not, be part of that.